


Descent Into Hell

by kingoriginal, Vearth



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Demon Alec Lightwood, Jalec Secret Santa 2017, M/M, Sensory Deprivation, Situational Humiliation, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles, jalec - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-18 00:49:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13088952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingoriginal/pseuds/kingoriginal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vearth/pseuds/Vearth
Summary: “What is this? One of Raziel’s precious children all by himself?” Even the demon’s voice was soft. It was more disturbing than if it had screamed at Jace. “Is that the way of treating a new acquaintance?”





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Darque](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darque/gifts).



> This is a gift to the amazing @darqueparabatai as part of the Jalec Squad's Secret Santa. We hope this fic can tick some of your boxes, though we admit it did turn up kinda cuddly at some point... Apparently it can't be helped when one has so many limbs.
> 
> More tags will be added in the other chapters, so be on the look out for those. 
> 
> Other works on our tumblrs http://dnteverdoubtme.tumblr.com/ and http://ofgoldenblood.tumblr.com/

It was a cold December night, the unforgiving harshness of it dulled only by mercy of the lingering warmth characteristic of the holiday season. On a night like this, it was no surprise that most Shadowhunters looked for an excuse to stay within the comfort of the New York Institute's walls, pretending to watch the monitors while eating and enjoying themselves for once. Jace Wayland was the exception to the ranks of New York Shadowhunters, preferring to take on a solo patrol round as an excuse to leave the Institute’s far too cheery atmosphere behind. Family holidays such as this only served to remind him of what he didn’t have, a _family_.

Jace’s mother, Eliza, had died when he was still a child, so little he had no memories of her to call his own, meanwhile his father.. Now that was a man he remembered well, as much for the good times as for the not so good ones, but when it came to Michael Wayland the one thing Jace would never forget was his death. The few glimpses he had gotten from behind the cracks of a closet door had stayed with him to this day, like the familiar clash of blade against blade, the wetness of the blood that eventually reached his place of hiding and the sound of his father’s screams.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault, not anyone in the Institute at least. The place had welcomed him with open doors, an orphan boy barely ten years old and with no family to call his own, they raised him and trained him – it didn’t amount to the same as having a family, but it was close enough and something Jace was definitely grateful for. The last thing he would want was to bring their spirits down on Christmas night, so going out really benefited everybody and, all in all, it was nice to have an excuse to leave before someone else offered him eggnog again or tried to get him to join them for dinner.

Outside it was a typical December night, the snow covered streets silent if not for the occasional distant song and just enough of an amber glow to make NewYork the perfect setting for a white Christmas Eve. As his boots crushed the fresh snow on the ledge of a rooftop Jace could have sworn that he felt almost at peace, a rare occurrence without the weight of a seraph blade in his hand, but the night had this sort of feeling to it and while he didn't enjoy the holidays, he could still appreciate the sense of peace and calm that came along with them.

Still, as his eyes raked over the city’s skyline in one attentive swoop, Jace found himself wishing for a _fight_ . The peace and quiet were nice, but they didn’t hold a candle to the serenity he felt amidst the turmoil of battle, or to rush of unadulterated pleasure that followed a victory. That had always been his true peace, the one moment he felt the most himself, and in a quiet night such as this where his thoughts wandered too far into the past, Jace found himself itching for the oblivion only a good hunt could bring. _Be careful what you wish for_ , that’s how the saying goes, but words of caution were the furthest thing from the young Shadowhunter’s mind.

Less than a minute later his phone vibrated inside his pocked the screen blinking red with a warning of demonic activity that almost felt willed by Jace’s thoughts. He should have waited for backup, but the level of the warning was high and he was so close to the street in question heading there simply felt like a given. It would take time for any other Shadowhunter to get there, time some innocent people might not longer have in their hands. Either way the decision was already made, even before Jace thought about it his legs had already taken a few steps backwards garnering momentum for a jump that would smoothly take him to the next rooftop and closer to the coordinates on his phone. Christmas might be a doomed time for him, but maybe Jace could still save it for somebody else.  

He sensed the demon before he saw it. It wasn’t something that usually happened – lesser demons did not send out flares like that – but this one had an _aura_ to it, strong, dark and that made the hairs on Jace’s neck stand on end. A Greater Demon, it had to be. Not the kind of fight he’d been looking for, but that didn’t mean that he would shy away from it. He was the best Shadowhunter of his age, after all, he could take a demon on his own – even a Greater one. Jace wasn’t unrealistic, he knew that the chances of _killing_ it by himself were not extremely high, but he was positive that he would at least be able to stop it from whatever havoc it was wreaking in New York City, buy whoever the Institute was sending some precious time.

Jace got himself back to ground level as he approached his destination, taking out his seraph blade and noticing how it seemed to vibrate in his hand the closer he got to the center of the demonic activity he’d been feeling. The weapon glowed in the dark, projecting Jace’s shadow against the near walls of the alley he passed through. With every step he took a pressing feeling of dread expanded within his chest and grew stronger. It wasn’t fear, not really. He wasn’t afraid of facing any demon, just maybe of what _else_ he’d find there.

His foot hit something and Jace stumbled forward a step, his sure-footed rune helping him regain his balance again quickly. Looking down to see what it was his boot had got caught in he saw a crumpled mass on the pavement. Jace strained his eyes to see but it was too dark in this spot, the next street lamp too far away to spare its light and his hand too tight on the hilt of his blade for him to even consider letting it go to grab his stele. Jace knelt down instead, his knee hitting the ground with a wet _thud_ . It had snowed all afternoon and the streets were still damp. The light of his blade fell on the _thing_ before him and Jace shot back up, his sword raised in a defensive stance.

It was a body, the lifeless body of a woman. She wore a scarf or cloth around her neck that had been colored dark by the black that had spilled from her still opened mouth. Jace’s breath got stuck in his throat as he looked up and his darkness accustomed eyes finally spotted the other bodies spread all over the alley. He didn’t have to get close to them to know that there was no one left to save. They were all dead.

Forcing his gaze away from the carnage Jace walked ahead, his entire system on alert, but his mind remained unrelenting. Part of him was silently admitting that coming here without backup had not been the idea of the century but it was no use now, he was the only one there. This was what he was born to do, and he couldn’t turn back now, not even in the face of such horror.

A noise, like plastic pipes being drawn over the floor, caught his attention. Jace hurried before he could think about it, he knew he had to be quiet but he couldn’t take too much _time_. The bodies on the ground were cold, they had died a while ago, so there was reason to assume that the demon would stick around for much longer to enjoy the view. With silent steps Jace crossed the alley and turned a corner, freezing as soon as he did with his seraph blade still raised. Before him, about half way inside the alley, the ground of which was also plastered with corpses, stood a man in a suit, his back turned to Jace.

The young nephilim wasn’t sure what he had expected. He had learned that Greater Demons could take various shapes and forms and often appeared startlingly human. Still, in his mind he had pictured a giant monster with claws as long as his arm and at least a dozen red evil eyes. Reality looked much less extravagant – and much less dangerous.

There was no time to waste. At this point Jace still had the element of surprise on his side and every second he waited heightened the risk of being discovered. So he rushed forward, striking at the very last moment and slashing his sword across the demon’s back. His plan worked out, or so he thought. The demon gave a pained groan of sorts and stumbled forward and Jace felt his heart beat triumphantly inside his chest for a moment, but the feeling faded quickly.

Jace’s blade had cut through the demon’s jacket but he couldn’t see any skin beneath, nor any blood or ichor just darkness. How was that possible? He wondered. He had _felt_ the damage he had done. Any lesser demon would have gone up in flames at this kind of blow but the man appeared only inconvenienced by the stumble. Slowly the demon turned and Jace swallowed hard. It looked like a young man, with dark unruly hair and surprisingly human eyes, not monstrous in the slightest. And to what was worth: not particularly wounded either.

Jace took a step back instinctively, almost tripping over another body as he did. The dull feeling of dread from before had turned into a pulsing storm inside his chest. He had made a mistake. “What is this? One of Raziel’s precious children all by himself?” Even the demon’s voice was soft. It was more disturbing than if it had screamed at Jace. “Is that the way of treating a new acquaintance?” It took a step closer and Jace mirrored the movement in the opposite direction.

“I am not here to make your acquaintance, demon. I am here to kill you,” he said, his seraph blade flaring up as if to underline his threat.

“Kill me? And why would you do that?” the demon inquired, looking more amused than threatened. Jace frowned.

“You are standing on the remains of your victims and have to ask that question?”

The demon threw a bored look around the alley, gazing at the dead as if they were scattered newspapers from yesterday. “This? I see.. Naturally, according to your logic, _someone_ has to pay for this. I don’t think I am interested in that someone being me.”

“Not your call!” Jace gave back with raised voice and shot forward, slashing his blade at the demon as soon as he was within reach. This time his blow didn’t hit its mark. A few inches before the demon’s chest his blade got stuck, held by the demon’s hand as if it was made of cardboard and led by a child. Jace gritted his teeth and tried to pull it free or push it deeper, but it was all in vain.

“Judge, jury and executioner, are you?” the demon chided, “You haven’t even heard my side of the story yet.”

A sharp gasp escaped Jace when the handle of his sword was ripped from his grip with such force that it pulled his entire body towards the demon. It fell to the floor and slithered all the way to the back wall uselessly where its light went out. Meanwhile something thick and incredibly strong curled around Jace’s neck, cutting of his air. It lifted him off the ground until his feet lost contact to the pavement and dangled uselessly in the air. His hands gripped at the torus around his throat, digging his fingernails into its odd soft texture in a faint attempt to cause damage. It didn’t budge in the slightest.

“Now, now, little angel. It seems a lesson in manners is in order,” the demon cooed and gave Jace a sickeningly sweet smile. It turned away and raised a hand into the empty space next to them.

Jace had to close his eyes when a wave of hot air washed over him, bringing with it the smell of sulfur and ash. When he opened them again it was to find himself looking straight into the mouth of a portal opened to a world of fire and darkness. **Edom**. Jace’s heart sunk into his stomach and he temporarily forgot to struggle.

_It was going to take him to hell_.


	2. Chapter 2

Jace didn’t have to ask to know that he was in hell, or at least in some version of it. The room he found himself in was not bad _per se_ , filled with elegant furniture, obviously picked by someone with good taste, and with a distinct lack of torture instruments or screaming souls as it was, but there was still something about it that screamed darkness and decay. Jace felt as though the walls were pulsing with _evil_. Maybe it was the angel blood running through his veins reacting to the absence of heaven down here or just his human soul repelled by its demonic prison. Either way, Jace couldn’t help but wonder if somewhere up there Raziel was looking down on him, shaking his head over what had become of the powers he had once given to Jonathan Shadowhunter. Clearly Jace had failed spectacularly in using them effectively in his fight against a Greater Demon.

Meanwhile, said Greater Demon was moving about the room, its distraction giving Jace a moment to take in his surroundings. It was hard not to notice the gigantic bed in the middle of the room but Jace forced his mind away from picturing what could happen in it. That couldn’t be why the demon had taken him, he thought, it wouldn’t have needed a comfortable bedroom for _that_. As if to prove him wrong the demon’s voice carried through the room. “Take off your clothes,” it said dryly, making Jace’s head snap in its direction.

_No way_ . “No,” he replied defiantly, taking a step back in an automatic attempt to lengthen the distance between them. The demon’s answer was only to smile, a smile that sent a shiver down Jace’s spine, indecent enough to make his cheeks burn up. In fact, Jace’s _entire body_ flared up with a sudden heat that seemed to stem from a rush of outrage and embarrassment.

..or so he thought, until he noticed the literal _flames_ flickering all over his clothes. “By the angel!” Jace yelled, jumping back, as if that could somehow get him away from the fire that was _on him_ . It couldn’t, of course, and he quickly started patting his shirt and pants, trying to put the flames out with his hands. His clothes burned like _straw_ , the fabric turning to ash so fast he could watch it happen, and yet, aside from a comfortable warm tingling on his skin, the heat didn’t seem to affect him. It wasn’t until the flames had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton of a shirt and the buckle of his belt that landed on the floor with a loud _clank_ that Jace understood that these hadn’t been natural flames at all.

In hindsight, taking his clothes off when the demon had told him to would have been less embarrassing. Jace hurried to cover his nakedness but tried to do it with as much nonchalance as he could muster. No need to admit how startled he was. “You owe me a new jacket,” he said lamely, unable to resist the urge to mouth off even now. The demon let out an amused huff and snapped his fingers. The last surviving stripe of fabric around Jace’s neck tore and the sad remains of his shirt sailed to the floor where they went up in flames. Too late Jace remembered that he’d had his cell phone in his back pocket.

_The reception in hell was probably terrible anyway_.

Now that his clothes were gone, they were quickly replaced by a weight around Jace’s throat. It was nothing compared to the feeling of being choked by an all-powerful demon a few minutes ago - _or had it been an hour?_ \- but it was unarguably _there_ . Jace raised his fingers to the thing around his neck and discovered a solid collar. It was made of a kind of leather but he didn’t dare to entertain the thought where one might get the leather for a collar in _hell_. Attached to a ring at the back of it was a metal chain that appeared endless, at least until Jace tried to get rid of it or go somewhere the demon didn’t want him to go.

He couldn’t see where its end was or where it connected to a wall but it trailed after him wherever he went, like a guardian snake loyal only to one master. The demon threw him an amused glance as he tested it out, and not for the first time since they had met Jace found it hard to keep a dignified look on his face. He was butt naked, shivering in the cool air and wearing a collar like a common–

“ _Pet_. I am talking to you,” the demon scolded, but without a trace of malice in his voice. Jace’s eyes shot up, his lips falling open slightly. Pet?! He was about to protest when the demon continued, a touch of benevolence seemingly ever-present in his tone. “You must be tired. You may sleep next to me,” it said, gesturing towards the large bed in the middle of the room. It looked perfectly soft, comfortable and inviting. Jace threw the demon a venomous look and raised his hand in a rude gesture. Wild horses couldn’t drag him into the bed of a _demon_.

“Or you can sleep on the floor,” the demon added, seemingly unfazed by Jace’s unruliness.

“Gladly,” Jace replied, turning away from the bed and its owner and heading to a corner as far away from them as his wayward chain allowed. He would have insisted that he didn’t need to sleep at all, but the bitter reality was that he _was_ tired and worn out from the fight, and if he wanted any chance at fighting his way out of here he needed rest.

The floor was the complete opposite of the bed: painfully hard, freezing cold and about as uninviting as it got. He had been lying on the ground for less than five minutes when his stubborn composure began to crumble, leaving behind a feeling of helplessness and resignation. He had messed up big time. His hand found the collar around his neck again, squeezing it as if to test its solidity. Was this it, the way he would end? A pet to a Greater Demon, shackled and humiliated until it grew tired of him and put him out of his misery? It wasn’t like Jace to lose hope so quickly but right now even he had to admit that it looked pretty dark for him.

Something cold and sharp brushing against his leg pulled him from his thoughts. He sat up hastily, pressing his back against the wall, hissing at the cold. His gasp must have been heard over on the bed where the demon had settled comfortably, his arms crossed behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. A thought briefly brushed Jace’s mind: did demons even sleep?

“Oh, did I forget to mention my _other_ pets?” the demon asked sweetly. _Great_. Jace steered into the swirling shadows beneath the bed trying to make out any shape of a living creature. He didn’t have to wait long before something thin and long rushed past him, slick skin covered in blueish scales flashing in the dim light. It wasn’t like any demon he had seen before. If he’d had to name it he would have said it looked like an oversized lizard.

“You’re joking, right?” Of course it wasn’t joking but Jace was too agitated to be still. Were those the options he was given? Share a bed with the devil or get eaten alive by his pet crocodile? Still, even now only one of these was acceptable to him. “Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”

Jace thought he could hear the demon chuckle over on the bed. “Who said anything about killing you, angel?” There was a pause that seemed to stretch endlessly in which Jace waited for the demon to reveal his evil plan, but it said nothing more.

“Then what do you want with me?” he finally dared to ask.

“Isn’t it obvious?” The demon’s next words sent a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold stone pressed against his naked skin. “I am going to _keep_ you.”

“Well, that’s too bad, because I am pretty sure your baby dragon here is planning to have me for dinner.” Jace's tone played at nonchalance, or at least it attempted to do so, but the demon’s words still rang in his ears, shaking him in a way he had never experienced before.

This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be his fate.

The demon hummed shortly. “No, she won’t.” Oh, it was a _she_ \- how lovely. “She is well trained. Unlike you.”

Jace’s jaw clenched tightly in response. “I am not a pet!” He hugged himself, hoping to get a little warmer and stop his treacherous limbs from shivering. The whole situation kept chipping away at his dignity but what little he had left Jace was determined to hold on to.

The demon turned its head to look at Jace. Its eyes seemed to swirl like pools of hazel mist. Jace refused to think that they were pretty. “Aren’t you?” the demon asked, innocently.

Jace’s fingers dug into the soft flesh of his arms. “No. I’m a _shadowhunter_ , and as soon as I get my hand on a weapon I will chop your ugly head off your shoulders,” he promised, knowing fully well that taunting the devil in his own home was a daring move. But how much worse could it possibly get?

A feeling of triumph washed over him when he saw the demon’s eyes grow darker. “Maybe I should take away your voice. You haven’t exactly used it for anything entertaining,” it said, the amusement temporarily gone from its voice. A tiny victory, Jace decided.

“I don’t care what you do. I am not your pet. I will never do what you want me to do,” Jace said defiantly, flinching back involuntarily when the lizard slithered past him again.

The demon, in turn, sat up in his bed, running a hand through its lustrous black hair. “Enjoy your first night, angel.” When Jace tried to respond with a corresponding insult he found his throat unable to follow through. He coughed silently, a dull ache taking hold of it that increased when he tried to speak.

It seemed the demon could control far more than the elements in this realm.


	3. Chapter 3

Jace felt like he had spent an eternity lying on the cold floor, unable to sleep, but at some point his body gave up and he found himself falling into an uneasy slumber. The poor excuse for rest, however, was interrupted harshly by a sharp pain shooting through his leg. Jace startled and cried out – but the noise got stuck in his throat. Whatever the demon had done to him the night before still kept his voice at bay. Blinking sleepily at his leg, Jace spotted an angry red bite mark where the lizard had gotten a taste of him. So much for  _ well trained _ .

“I see you have finally risen,” a voice greeted him from above and Jace looked up to see the demon standing there. It wore a suit like the night before, but a different one, and the shadow it cast against the wall appeared much bigger than its physical form. Jace gave it an accusing glare, rubbing his leg. “You can’t really blame her. You slept in her spot,” the demon explained, amusement once again coloring its voice. If his voice had allowed it, Jace would have pointed out that the demon had  _ told  _ him to lie on the floor, never once mentioning that the cold tiles were assigned to certain occupants. Maybe it was a good thing that he couldn’t speak - what good would it do him to argue with a demon? Better to stay put and bide his time until a chance to escape presented itself.

That was a wise decision, and it would have been a good one too if only Jace had been able to  _ stick to it _ . But his situation was infuriating, degrading, and in feeling powerless to attack his captor he fought back in the only way he could: with his defiance – and whatever colorful insult came to mind. Being unable to actually voice such insults was an  _ issue _ , but Jace made up for it by being as difficult as possible.  

“You will do what I want you to do, one way or another,” the demon pointed out as Jace refused to stand when told to, the words _ 'Not a Pet' _ ringing within his thoughts. “All you get to decide is how painful it is going to be.” It never ceased to amaze Jace with how gentle a voice the demon could throw out obvious threats such as this. Only a Greater Demon could be this charming and fearsome all at once.

_ I’m not afraid of pain _ , Jace would have said if he still had his voice. As it was, all he could do was hope that his defiance was clear in his gaze, as it seemed to be, since the demon answered it almost immediately. It smiled, and it was the most unsettling thing Jace had ever seen. “Well, then. Such a fearless little angel. Are you afraid of the dark?”

Right on cue it was as if someone had turned off all the lights in a room without windows. It was

how Jace imagined suddenly turning blind. Jace’s hands shot up to touch his eyes, following the irrational wish to wipe or pull away whatever it was that covered them with this darkness, but found only his bare face. His heart picked up pace, pulsing blood through his veins so fast he heard it rushing in his ears. 

_ What have you done to me _ , he wanted to ask, but he was still mute and his lips parted only in silence. Mute and blind. Would he lose his hearing next? Was this the demon’s way of slowly breaking him, taking away his senses one by one until he was nothing but a conscience detached from its physical senses drifting in an empty, dark, silent endlessness? The thought was such a horrible one it made cold sweat break out on Jace’s skin. His fingers had curled inwards, his hands pressed against his useless eyes in fists.

“You will find that  _ thinking  _ becomes a lot easier when you take away some of the worldly distractions,” the demon offered. Its words felt like mockery. “And you will have a lot of time to think now.” A cool breeze drifted over Jace, as if someone had momentarily opened a window and created a draught. Even without his eyesight, somehow, Jace knew that that meant the demon had left.

He was alone.

Slowly he lowered his hands but the darkness around him didn’t lighten. He was trapped in shadows, wafting not before his eyes but  _ inside his head _ . What had the demon meant by its words? How much was a lot of time, and what was he supposed to think about? His failures, which ultimately had led him here? Jace took a shaky step forward. No runes or years of training balance and body control could have prepared him for this. He had never felt more unsure in his movements and it took all his self-discipline not to press the panic button right away. Jace knew that he had to proceed with baby steps: calm down, get to the wall, use it to guide himself around the room.. and then take it from there.

Stretching out his arms Jace hoped to find the wall within his reach, but only touched thin air. His heart made a small jump. With a deep breath he tried to remember what he knew about the room. Where had he stood before the demon had taken the light from him? He hadn’t been too far away from the wall. Somewhere to his left he heard a hissing noise, louder even than the night before - or perhaps it just seemed so now that he had no distracting visuals. Great - the last thing he needed right now was that damn lizard taking advantage of his weakness. He took another shaky step forward, and another, until his fingertips brushed against cold hard stone; he had found the wall.

Pressing his hand flat to the stone Jace took one final step and leaned against it, for once not minding the cold surface against his skin. It felt like he had spent an hour getting there when really it had been a few minutes tops. Maybe this was what the demon had meant: time seemed to stretch endlessly when you were cloaked in darkness.

* * *

And it was a long stretch indeed, the concept of day and night lost in darkness in such a way Jace could no longer tell how much had passed. A few days? A week? All Jace knew was the pitch black before him and the confines of the room’s four walls. He couldn’t tell how long it took, but eventually Jace did break. After the initial panic over losing his eyesight he had tried his hardest to come to terms with it and make the best out of it.  _ He was a shadowhunter, clearly he wasn’t afraid of the dark! _ He hadn’t anticipated how maddening the combination of no light, no voice and utter loneliness in an unwelcoming environment could be, though. The demon didn’t return for much longer than Jace had expected, the only companion he had during its absence being the snappy lizard under the bed; and she seemed more interested in  _ eating  _ Jace than entertaining him.

He was still forced to sleep on the ground even without the demon around, as the chain on his collar only allowed him to get close enough to the bed to put a hand but no other part of his body on it. It wasn’t hard to imagine that the demon had chose its current length for exactly this purpose. It was a miserable existence, cold and lonely and scary.

Needless to say, when the demon finally returned Jace was relieved, if not a little  _ joyous _ .

He knew it was back even before he saw it, simply because he could _ see _ at all. It was as if the sun had suddenly popped up in the room, the sight so bright Jace had to cover his darkness-accustomed eyes and protect himself from the blinding light that came along with the demon’s presence. 

Even without seeing it yet Jace could feel the amusement coming from it in waves, could picture the satisfied smirk on it’s thin lips and the way its head would tilt as it looked at him like he was some curious side-show. 

“I take it you missed me,” the demon said, its voice so close it couldn’t be standing more than a few steps behind Jace, in the perfect distance to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

And the annoying thing wasn’t even that, but that he _ had _ , missed him, that was. He had missed the company of any other living thing, missed seeing, missed having a voice to listen to since he couldn’t even hear his own, a presence– He had missed the demon, because that was all he could miss being where he was, and, as bizarre as it sounded, he hoped it wouldn’t leave again so soon. 

Lowering his hands Jace allowed his eyes to get used to the light again, blinking the excessive brightness away from them and watching as the demon’s face became less and less of a blurry thing. It was standing right in front of him now, watching his eyes with unguarded interest and a glint on its own hazel ones that made Jace want to look away. He didn’t, but that wasn’t to say he felt any less uncomfortable, a huff escaping his lips all he managed to _ say _ on the matter.

His mood was sour, and yet Jace was glad it wasn’t enough to dissuade the demon from talking to him, the one-sided conversation something he listened too almost eagerly regardless of how trivial the subject was. Listening to a Greater Demon complain about a swarm of Edomi was better than the overbearing silence…  _ How was this his life now? _

* * *

That night the demon offered Jace to sleep in its bed again, but he refused with a shake of his head. It was bad enough he had to admit to  _ himself  _ that he had yearned for the demon’s return, there was no need to admit it to the demon as well. Jace’s determination concerning this was ironclad.

\---At least until a few nights later, when he was lying on the ground again, shivering and trying to ignore the hard surface pressing into every single bone on his sore body. He had wanted to believe that he was tougher than this, but reality proved him wrong.

Jace sat up and rubbed his aching side as he looked up to the bed. The demon was lying on it but there was no telling if it was awake or not. The lights in the room had gone out a while ago, dipping everything in silent darkness; not the overwhelming kind he had previously been left alone with, but more of a serene gloominess. Jace was gripped by a strange feeling of embarrassment. Not because he was seriously considering sleeping next to a  _ demon _ , but because he had rejected the demon’s nightly offer to share a bed earlier and was now facing the awkward task of going back on that decision.

At least he wouldn’t have to  _ ask _ , seeing as his voice was currently out of commission. Jace contemplated for a moment longer, until he felt a sharp set of scales rub against his thigh. Despite having reclaimed her rightful sleeping spot the lizard still didn’t show a particular fondness of her new roommate. He took that as a good excuse to jump on his feet. Even standing up he still couldn’t see if the demon was sleeping or awake. It had its back turned to him, leaving a generous bit of space behind it for Jace to snuggle up in. Coincidence, Jace hoped.

The chain on his collar rattled quietly, gently reminding him of its existence, as he crossed the room to get to the bed. It showed no signs of resistance, its length apparently having increased again now that the demon was present. Jace had stopped wondering how exactly it worked a while ago. He carefully put his hands on the bed to test the waters and received no reaction from the supposedly sleeping form before him. The mattress shifted under the added weight when Jace climbed on it, his eyes fixed on the back of the demon’s head. His heart was hammering in his chest, the sound so loud in the silence of the room he was sure it could be heard outside of his body.

With sweaty palms Jace nestled in behind the demon, almost sighing out loud when his tense body finally met the soft, pleasant sheets. For once the shiver that coursed through his limbs had nothing to do with the cold but with pure bliss. Just as Jace was about to close his eyes and let his body succumb to the much-craved sleep the demon shifted and turned its head. The smirk on its lips was clearly visible, even in the unlit room. “I had a feeling you might change your mind.”

Jace glared at it for a moment, and then turned around to face the wall. Right now even his ego was too tired, too cold and too sore to choose dignity over a warm and soft bed.

By the time he woke up Jace felt more comfortable that he had in days, his body greedily soaking up the luxury of the comfortable silky sheets and pointedly ignoring the arms snuggly wrapped around his waist thigh. It was the price to pay for comfort, but.. something wasn’t right about that. The warm touch was too present, too  _ much–  _ Jace dreaded opening his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn’t once he did. His gaze was drawn to a black tendril wrapped around his thigh, his eyes widening with horror as he was incapable of looking away. 

He followed the black line all the way back to the demon snuggled up behind him, its eyes closed in slumber and, further down, its legs completely gone, replaced a mass of tentacles so black they looked to be made out of pure darkness. Jace’s whole body tensed at the sight, adrenaline shooting through his system as he remembered how the demon had choked him back at the alley and lifted him straight off the ground, its hands still at its sides; how it walked almost as if it was gliding across the floor and how its shadow had looked so massive, way bigger than the presented mortal form. 

Greater Demons could take on many forms, and while this one had managed to trick him with its human husk there would be no forgetting what it really looked like, no ignoring it either now. And there Jace was, literally  _ in bed _ with it. It was like falling into a pool of ice cold water. When had he grown so accustomed it had become acceptable? Why had he stopped fighting becoming a Greater Demon’s  _ pet _ ? It was true that he was unarmed and in total disadvantage, being a mortal in a demon realm, but his captor was asleep! It was as defenseless as it was ever going to be, and a better opportunity would likely not present itself anytime soon.

Without a second thought he lunged for the demon, hitting its face with a solid blow that connected with a burst of sickly satisfaction. By the time hazel eyes opened wide with surprise Jace had his knees on either side of the demon’s chest and both his hands around its neck, determined to choke the life right out of it. His fingers hurt from the sheer force he put into his hold, knowing that he only had this one chance to end it. Was it likely that he could kill a Greater Demon with his bare hands? Hardly. But not trying was not an acceptable alternative.

For a few moments it looked promising. Jace was on top of the situation, finally winning for once, and then everything shifted. He gasped in surprise and pain as his body was literally lifted into the air, at least four tentacles wrapped around his arms and legs, and unceremoniously slammed into the bed as the demon moved over him. Pale hands closed around Jace’s neck on top of the collar there and eyes so dark they looked like black pits with heatless flames burning inside of them drilled into his. 

“Did you really think– ” It didn’t even finish its question, anger breaking its words in a way Jace hadn’t witnessed before, so unlike the playful inconvenience from the alley. The demon looked furious, raging, and then it was all gone as Jace still silently gasped for air under its hold, anger giving place to disappointment as it dropped its hands and then all its other limbs. “I had higher hopes for you,” the demon declared, leaving Jace gaping. With a snap of its fingers it got the chain to retreat again, dragging Jace right off the bed and all the way into the dark corner he had come to think of as  _ his _ .

Next he knew there was a breeze of cold air, and darkness set over his eyes all over again. Once more Jace was alone and somehow it felt even more final than the last time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you ever wondered what the RPing this is based on goes like:
> 
> Min:  
> *adfjfg I don't like you nuh-uh. Not one bit* *you're evil*
> 
> Andy:  
> *yeah, and you don't dream about my slick tentacles between your thighs*  
> *you're totally dreaming of softcore tentacle porn*
> 
> Min:  
> *fuck my life*

It took even longer for the demon to come back the second time around, or at least that’s what it felt like. Either way, enough time passed that Jace started to fear that whatever line he had crossed had been to much and his captor might never return. He came to understand that there was something worse than being a demon’s prisoner in hell, and that was being left alone in hell. The silence was driving him crazy, coupled with the overbearing darkness and nothing but that damn lizard for company. It made Jace rethink everything that had gone down between him and the demon and slowly but surely he was beginning to  _ regret it _ . Fingers grazing the edge of the bed he once more found himself unable to reach reminded him of the one night he had spent on it, and how messily it had ended. 

Jace wasn’t sorry he had attacked the demon, he couldn’t be, he’d had to try, but if he had known that it was bound to fail it would have been better he hadn’t done it at all. For all its soft cruelty, the demon had not been outright malicious towards him until then. It treated him like a pet, yes, but at least it had been there and having something to antagonize beat being completely and utterly alone.

Well, there was the lizard, and the more the cold of the stone floor seeped under his skin the less Jace found he minded the proximity of the scaly creature. The only uplifting thing in his misery was the remaining hope that the demon would return  _ eventually _ , and there was one thing that spoke strongly for it: Jace was still alive and kept so by food and water that appeared when he needed it most direly. What good would it do the demon to ensure his survival if it planned on never coming back to him?

The first time it had happened Jace had almost suffered a heart attack. Just when he had thought his torment would finally come to an end once his body would give up without sustenance a heavy and cold weight had materialized in his hand out of nowhere. Jace had dropped it, startled by its sudden appearance. Only after a moment - after it had become obvious that it wasn’t _alive_ \- he had let his hand wander blindly over the floor to find it again and it had turned out to be a bottle of fresh and wonderful water. He had drank it up greedily, not even questioning it until it had lain empty next to him.

A little while later a piece of bread had appeared in similar manner to soothe Jace’s grumbling stomach. It seemed even when the demon wasn’t around it could surprise Jace with its powers within this realm. Even if it was only bread and water, knowing that the demon cared enough not to let him starve to death was reassuring. After the second time it had happened Jace had briefly thought that perhaps it had less to do with the demon and more with the demon dimension itself. What if it wasn’t the demon sending food for him but his own mind conjuring it up? He had tested this theory by imagining a large greasy cheeseburger that made his mouth water but had been gravely disappointed when absolutely nothing happened. So much for that theory.

And so bread and water it had been, until the demon came back.

Just like last time Jace was made aware of its presence by the sudden light flooding the room and his vision. He pressed his eyes closed, raising his hands against the onslaught of brightness from everywhere around him. “You look cold,” the demon stated matter-of-factly, skipping the whole smalltalk this time. Jace couldn’t shake the feeling that it was still angry with him and that was more unnerving than he was willing to admit. He nodded, not wanting to be rude again right away and unable to give a proper answer.

When a set of warm hands closed gently around his wrists Jace looked up, right into the demon’s eyes. They had the same warm hazel color like last time he’d seen them. “Time to sleep,” it said, pulling him to his feet, and for once Jace didn’t resist. It let go of him before heading towards the bed, as if it wanted to stress that it was still up to Jace where he wanted to sleep. Jace hesitated, momentarily surprised that he was offered to be in close proximity to the demon at all, after last time. Was it a trick, would it push him off and laugh at him if he tried to follow?

He took a step towards the bed and stopped again as his eyes fell on the demon, which had lain down on it. He couldn’t help noticing there was no glamour this time to hide the demon’s real form, the dark tentacles sprawled down and over the edge of the lavish bed impossible to ignore. Memories of how they had felt, curled around his legs, came rushing into his mind. Jace took a deep breath and swallowed. He had been so cold the past few nights that his legs and shoulders had started cramping from constantly shivering and by now the wish to warm up one way or another outweighed his dislike of all things demonic.

The demon watched his every step as Jace closed the distance between them and awkwardly climbed on the bed while trying to avoid the tentacles. It was like falling on a fluffy cloud. His efforts had been in vain, for as soon as he lay down with his back to the demon the tentacles reached out for him, curling around his chilled limbs almost lovingly. Jace tensed but didn’t pull away. They were like a living blanket, caressing his skin with gentle touches and warming him up immediately. There were worse things, Jace told himself. (Freezing to death on the floor, for example.)

“Feeling warmer yet?” the demon teased and Jace had to fight hard not to give him a venomous glare. Instead he nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. “Did you make good use of the time I gave you?” Jace flinched when something gently poked his arm and he looked to see a tentacle rubbing against him tenderly. It made him want to run away screaming but at the same time he felt like nothing in the world could have made him get out of this bed again. He thought about the time that had passed since he’d attacked his captor (however long it had been) and how he had used it. Mostly he’d been cold and miserable and plotting the demon’s bloody death. So, yes, in a way, he had used it at least partly well.

The demon seemed to grow tired of asking questions without receiving answers. “Let's hear that pretty voice of yours,” it chimed, its will and nothing else causing a tingle in Jace’s throat. 

“Can I–” Jace trailed off, his own voice hoarse from  misuse and surprising, as he hadn't heard it in so long . He had almost forgotten what it sounded like. Clearing up his throat he reached up for his neck his fingers closing around nothing but the already familiar collar there. 

“There it is,” the demon smiled, seemingly pleased with himself. “Lovely.”

Jace wanted to ask why, but he figured the reason didn’t really matter, not when the demon would do whatever it pleased anyway. It was true he kept expecting the creature to be cruel. Torture, pain (and perhaps rape considering that ominous bed) were the things he came to expect of demons in general, let alone a greater one, but his captor kept proving him wrong by being surprisingly gentle. Or perhaps gently  _ cruel _ . It had proven his complete power over this realm already, its total control, and yet all it did with it was trying to get Jace to say  _ please  _ and, apparently, to show some manners. 

Well if that was what the demon wanted then it would be the last thing Jace would give. “Missed me telling you how much you suck?” he asked instead, a smirk tugging at his lips in hearing the familiar defiance echoing in his own voice.

The demon didn’t seem surprised, and Jace found noticing so particularly annoying. It meant he was getting to know it about as much as the demon was coming to know him. Enough that his words came to be expected. “So eager to lose it again?” it asked with enough weight in his voice to ensure Jace knew he was at least half serious.

Jace’s smirk crumbled. “No.. I’d like to keep it,” he admitted. He shifted a little in the demon’s grip, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Then watch your words, angel. I have no use for childlike insults.” 

The demon’s scolding words awoke the honest desire to apologize but Jace bit his tongue to keep himself from doing so. He was not going to stoop so low. “I didn’t think demons slept in bedrooms like this,” he said instead, feeling the need to talk simply because he  _ was able to  _ again.

The demon didn’t seem to mind his change of topic. “Not all do. Not all sleep. I find it amusing when in human form, your dreams can be quite entertaining,” it said, the gentleness returning to its tone. 

Jace felt oddly relieved. “You dream? Of what?” he asked.

He shifted on the bed again, his skin brushing against the warmth of the demon’s body on his back. This was the most comfortable he had ever been - or at least the most comfortable he remembered ever having been. “Old memories mostly; things I almost forgot, centuries old,” the demon explained offhandedly. How odd it must feel to remember things from centuries ago; on good days Jace had a hard time remembering what he ate for breakfast.

“How old are you?” he asked without thinking. His hand reached down to his leg, nudging at a tentacle that had wrapped around his thigh like a thick soft vine. It moved fluidly at his touch, unwrapping from his leg and slithering up to curl around his wrist like a friendly snake.

The demon answered as if its actions had nothing to do with him. “I have existed way before time; there’s no number to it, but several millennia.” Another thing hard to imagine.

It made Jace feel younger than he ever had. “Oh,” he said intelligently. “I am 21.” He wasn’t sure why he had said it, since the demon hadn’t asked. Saying it out loud, however, made him realize that he hadn’t thought about his age in quite a while. “Or 22. I don’t know what month it is.”

The demon smiled. If it was surprised by Jace opening up it didn’t show it. “December. When is your birthday, angel?”

Jace looked at the tentacle around his arm and swallowed. He knew he should have been repelled by it but found that he was all but fascinated, if a little freaked out. He curled his fingers around the part that had slithered into the palm of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “In January,” he said, mildly distracted. The tentacle contracted and relaxed around his hand, squeezing back by all means like a regular limb would.

“I shall think of a gift until then.”

Jace shivered, letting go of the tentacle and pulling his hand closer to his chest. “I want nothing from you,” he said defiantly, the words falling from his lips more out of reflexive stubbornness than conscious decision.

The demon remained silent for a moment. The tentacle let go of Jace’s arm and slithered down the bed, comfortable wrapping around his ankle. “So feisty. But as you wish; you shall receive nothing.”

Jace resisted the urge to wipe his hand on the sheets, suddenly embarrassed by his own reactions to being held in this curious embrace. “Good,” he said after a short pause, swallowing down the strange and utterly misplaced feeling of disappointment. He had asked for nothing and he wanted nothing from a demon! So why did it not feel like a victory to have gotten what he wanted? He couldn’t help but wonder what a demon who chose to live in a place like this, even within a hell dimension, would have picked as a gift to its favorite new toy. Images of beautiful old books with ancient knowledge written on their dusty pages came to his mind and he shook them off hastily. It probably would have been a shiny new collar.

“Are you going to kill me when you are done with me?” Jace suddenly blurted out. When he had first come here he would have bet his most treasured possession that the answer was yes; now he was not so sure.

“What makes you think that I will ever be done with you, angel?” the demon said, almost lovingly. “Don’t worry your pretty head with things like that.”

Not for the first time Jace felt the struggle inside of him roar. It was hard to bear knowing that he was born to kill the very creature that currently held him in a loving embrace and that instead he had become its unwilling  _ pet _ . Although, with some surprise Jace found that he did not mind as much as he had in the beginning.

“What is it you want with me exactly?”

The demon shrugged behind Jace, the movement making the bed shudder lightly beneath them. “I am not sure yet. I like pretty things; your company when you are not being a little brat, the faint smell of heaven in my bed.. I’m not sure which one does it,” it said.

Jace stifled a yawn. He was getting sleepy and far more comfortable than he was, well, comfortable with. He wanted to go home, had thought of nothing else ever since the demon had dragged him to hell. But all of a sudden he was struck by a thought that hadn’t come to him before: what was home really? Ever since his father had did he hadn’t had a proper home, the New York Institute being little more than an orphanage turned military school for Nephilim soldiers. So what was it that he was yearning for?

“You just mute me when you don’t like what I say,” Jace said almost accusingly. The demon, as if noticing that he was getting tired, placed a warm hand on his shoulder in a light caress, lulling him to sleep. “That is not true, angel, I always warn you first. Continuing to offend me is your choice.”

Jace bit back the comment that lay on the tip of his tongue at hearing that. It was unnerving how good the demon’s caresses felt. “I am your prisoner,” he insisted.

“That you are, but you don’t have to make this unpleasant.”

As if his mind had nothing better to do than prove the demon right Jace fired back without hesitation. “ _ You _ are unpleasant.”

Almost immediately the warmth disappeared from around Jace’s limbs, the body against his back retreating and the gentle tentacles detaching themselves from his arms and legs. Jace shivered against the sudden cold.

“You can leave the bed now,” the demon said calmly.

Jace didn’t move. He steered into the darkness ahead, his hand curling into a fist around the sheets. “--what?”

“You heard it, pet.” With a sting Jace noticed how they had gone back from  _ angel  _ to  _ pet  _ again. Jace turned his head, looking at the demon with a look of disbelief (it couldn’t be described as anything else). Without another word he got off the bed and walked over to his sleeping corner on the floor, goosebumps breaking out on his skin as soon as his bare feet touched the ground. He did not miss the demon’s gentle touch, he absolutely did  _ not _ .

“Next time ‘I’m sorry’ will suffice,” the demon said. Jace gave him a rude gesture, without knowing if it even looked in his direction.   


“Go to hell.”

That night Jace did not sleep for a single minute.

* * *

His one comfort was to see that the demon was still there when he woke up, though he didn’t want to think about since when that had become a source of comfort. But Jace opened his eyes to the bedroom softly lit by its several torches and lamps, the outline of the demon’s form was clearly visible under the sheets, and the sight of it made him sigh under his breath. 

At least he could still _ see _ , and probably speak, though he had yet to test that considering he had nothing useful to say at the moment. As it was, all his lips were good for were being pressed tight, trying to keep his teeth from clattering and he hugged himself tight and shivered from the cold. The feeling of the demon wrapped around him had been revolting, but also warm, and with a full and unforgiving night to think about it Jace finally decided that it was preferential to the stone cold floor.

He would be damned if he was going to  _ say it _ though, and considering he couldn’t have apologized if he tried, Jace elected to ignore the option altogether. He was Jace Wayland after all, and Jace Wayland was hardly ever sorry. What he was was daring, and as so he decided to take a chance, approaching the demon’s bed and throwing the creature lying in it a questioning look. What was the worst that could happen after all? The demon killing him?

Unfortunately, it did nothing of the sort, instead raised an eyebrow at Jace’s  _ 'Can I get away with this?' _ and nodded regally. It was as much of an agreement as he was going to get, and Jace took it without missing a beat, pulling himself into the soft mattress and lying down on it, not even questioning the fact there had been no need for the demon to give his chain more lease; he had been able to reach the bed all along. This time when he lied on it Jace chose to face the demon which had yet to move from its spot.

“Got tired of the floor again, angel?” it asked, sparing Jace from the demand of an apology he wasn’t quite sure he could muster. 

At least they were back to _ angel _ and that, more than anything the demon could possibly say, made Jace sure that whatever had bothered his captor so much the previous night was at least forgiven, even if clearly not forgotten. There was distance between them now, a literal breach of space Jace eyed longingly while remembering the soft embrace he had been wrapped into the previous night, missing the bizarre comfort of several limbs holding him tight. 

The demon had allowed him back on the bed, but it gave no signs that it was willing to  _ cuddle  _ him again. In fact, it seemed the demon was insinuating the exact opposite of it if the blanket that materialized at Jace’s feet was anything to go by, the message along with its appearance quite clear. But Jace was nothing if not stubborn, and thought he did wrap himself eagerly inside the warm blanket it didn’t stop him from scooting closer to the demon, pressing himself pointedly at its side and causing it to let out an audible long-suffering sigh as it felt Jace shiver against its shoulder.

“Very well. Blue only looks pretty in your eyes, not your lips,” it decided, turning in Jace’s direction and _ finally _ tugging him into its arms, a tentacle wrapping itself around Jace’s hips and settling there. “Go back to sleep, angel.”

The action, more than the words, finally got Jace to relax, his whole body pressed against the demon’s chest and greedily soaking up its warmth. “I’m not an angel,” he whispered then, eyes closed and his voice barely a whisper, muffled by the demon’s solid form. 

“Indeed you are not,” it agreed, “But you are as close to one as it gets.”

Sure, one could suppose there weren‘t many nephilim in hell, but that wasn’t what kept nagging Jace when it came to the demon’s choice of words rather than the fact that it seemed to  _ enjoy it _ .  

“Why do you even want an angel?” he finally got around to asking, barely pulling back enough to look up to the demon’s hazel eyes. “Shouldn’t you hate them?”

“Hate them?” the demon questioned, looking like it might be offended by the mere question if it wasn’t so amused. “I might have deviated from their path, but I do not hate my brothers and sisters. If anything, I pity them for their divine shackles and self-inflicted ignorance.”

Jace didn’t gasp, but he came close to it. For all his knowledge of demons it didn’t occur to him once to remember that the Greater ones only wielded so much power because of what they really were:  _ fallen angels _ . The knowledge didn’t make his captor any less horrible, but it gave Jace some new sense of perspective into the creature that had taken him, made him look at it with new eyes knowing that face had once belonged to an angel. 

“No offense, but what ignorance would that be? Ignorance towards the freedom to sin and murder?” he inquired once he had gotten back his bearings, even more curious then he had been before now that he knew.. No one had ever quite figured out what it was that got angels to fall. 

“None taken,” the demon smirked, “But I meant ignorance towards the benefits of free will. The privilege of having no  _ master _ .”

Now Jace had met way more demons than angels in his time as a Shadowhunter, but he couldn’t say he had agreed with a whole lot of them. 

“You wouldn’t agree with the angels either,” said the smooth voice breaking him out of his reverie, “They’re mostly feathery dicks.”

The words made Jace snort, “Weren’t you one of them?”

“I did say  _ mostly _ .”

“Oh, so you’re the charming exception?”

“Clearly.”

It was Jace’s turn to smile amusedly, his smirk half hidden into the demon’s chest as he snuggled even closer to it, a comfortable tentacle resting against his shoulder and keeping him there. 

“Can I ask something?” he wondered out loud, his eyes once more heavy with sleep and missing the demon’s affirmative nod, though he did hear it say  _ of course _ . “How many of those are there.. ?”

There was a short pause. “How many of what?”

Jace cleared his throat. Now that he was actually able to pose the question he found it difficult to phrase. “You know,” he said, when the demon clearly didn’t continue. “Your  _ tentacles _ .” Was that even what the demon referred to them as? To stress his words Jace reached out and tentatively ran his hand over one of them.

The amusement in the demon’s voice when it answered was impossible to deny. “However many I want them to be,” it said mysteriously. The tentacle moved at the touch, gently wrapping around Jace’s wrist.

“I can’t imagine controlling so many limbs,” Jace admitted. He thought his difficulty to move his pinkie without moving the ring finger as well.

“It’s not that hard.” The tendril around Jace’s hip slid down around his thigh and tugged him closer.” Jace didn’t struggle against its touch but he opened his eyes and looked up into the demon’s face, a little surprised to find it so close all of a sudden.

“They feel odd. They’re so warm..”

“You don’t seem so bothered.” The demon’s grip on Jace tightened just a little, pulling him deeper into his warmth.

“It’s better than your pet lizard,” Jace said flippantly.

The demon smirked again, “Good to see I am growing in your regards.”

“Why do you care what I think?” Jace couldn’t help asking.

“Because you’re here, angel, like it or not. And it would be better if you enjoyed it.”

It was strange to imagine that the demon actually wanted him to have a good time after literally snatching him off the street against his will. Jace opened his mouth to say something about the level of joy that sleeping on the floor and being left alone brought him, but decided against it in the last moment. Oddly enough he was not in the mood to start another argument.

“Are you leaving again tomorrow?” he asked instead, already knowing what he wanted the answer to be. “Or.. tonight?”

The demon gave him an intense look. “I can stay, if you ask me to.” It paused. “Don’t you know it’s night time?” it asked, belatedly.

Jace bit his tongue and shrugged. “It’s dark.. It’s always dark.”

“Well, yes. But that shouldn’t stop you.” The demon tugged him close, its arm stretched behind Jace’s shoulders pushing him gently to make him look up. “You can tell by the stars,” it said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. (Which, it kind of was, come to think of it.)

Jace was left speechless for a moment. The ceiling above them was pitch black, revealing no structure or height, but sprinkled with a plethora of sparkling stars in various levels of brightness. It was the most beautiful thing Jace had ever seen, perhaps more beautiful than the sky outside.

“Are those real–” he began, but went back on it immediately. “No, of course they’re not.. They’re only here at night?” he asked.

The demon’s fingers curled around Jace’s shoulder. “They’re a real projection. And they’re always there if you pay attention, but they shift, just like the moon and sun shift. You just need to learn to tell.”

It sounded great - as a concept.

“But I can’t see them when you’re gone. I can’t see anything,” Jace pointed out, a little wistfully.

“I’ll allow you then,” the demon decided, “Everyone should be able to see the stars.”

Jace pushed his head back into the pillow and looked up at the stars, a smile tugging at his lips. Perhaps humans and demons weren’t all that different after all.

“You’re not what I was taught Greater Demons are,” he admitted, looking over at the demon.

It looked back with raised eyebrows.

“What are your Greater Demons supposed to be like? Idiots like Azazel?”

It was bizarre to hear the demon insult someone they had assumed to be his ally, but Jace wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as if all nephilim got along well. Why should demons, who seemed to exist to cause chaos and havoc, be any different in that aspect?

“So I’m lucky I met you?” he asked, only half joking and already pretty certain of what the answer would be.

“Of course you are. Others might have been more like you would expect them to be.”


	5. Chapter 5

_ “Jace..” _

Being allowed on the bed these days Jace made the most of it, lounging on the silky soft sheets with his back propped on a small mountain of pillows. He was just beginning to doze off when the call of his name in a now familiar deep voice caught his attention, his heavy eyes rising to meet the smirking face he already knew he would find at the foot of the bed. 

The demon was there, just as expected, and in his hazy state Jace allowed his eyes to linger on its features, the pink lips, a sharp jawline and the dark five o’clock shade over his cheeks. Were demons even supposed to have stubble? It caught him staring just as he wondered, the smirk on its lips growing into a full grin as it approached the bed in slow steps like a stalking predator, dark eyes never leaving Jace and causing heat to color his cheeks pink. 

“What is it, angel?” it asked, “See something you like?”

There was a catty answer at the tip of Jace’s tongue, ready to come out and then completely gone in the blink of an eye as the demon’s seemingly human legs vanished into smoke, tentacles taking their place and immediately latching themselves into the bed posts, effortlessly pulling their master onto the mattress. Jace swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as black tendrils wrapped around his ankles and slithered their way up his bare legs. 

It was horrifying, the multiple touches sending a shiver up Jace’s spine and making him impossibly hard as they approached his cock. His eyes were wide and glued to the sight, his lip bitten to hold back a whimper as the demon leaned over him and, for once, its tentacles refused to move any further like Jace wanted them to.   

“If you want it so bad,” it whispered into his ear, his voice warm and tempting,  _ “You might as well ask for it.”  _

Jace woke up startled with the taste of blood on his lips and an aching hard-on between his legs that refused to die down. The demon he had been dreaming about was right there on the bed, a hand on the slope of Jace’s hips and a stray tentacle loosely wrapped around his waist. It had a gleam in its eyes, almost as if it knew.

It wasn’t the first time he experienced one of such dreams either, in fact, they have been happening for a while now, a couple of weeks since he was now able to tell the time, and more and more often too, nearly every night now since Jace had begun sharing the demon’s bed. They varied in regards to what happened, but never in circumstance, it was always the two of them in that ridiculously fancy bed, and those dark tentacles pleasuring him in ways that had Jace blushing then just thinking about it. It was dirty, so fucking dirty, and yet, somehow..

Somehow this was his life now. Jace was trapped in a comfortable hell and he had no hope of going back home, there was only this place, this demon, and it wasn’t so bad really. It felt sick and depraved but he wanted him. Deep down he clearly wanted to know what those tentacles would feel like in real life if only he allowed himself, he wanted a _ touch _ … 

“Please…” Jace groaned, a hand against himself and his head buried into the demon’s shoulder, voice muffled into his pale skin. 

The demon turned slowly at the request,  its tentacles moving along with it, lightly grazing Jace’s skin as they readjusted themselves on the bed, making him shiver as the images of his dreams felt more and more vivid within his head. “What do you want, angel?” it whispered, and Jace knew all he had to do was _ ask _ , but he couldn’t.

“Can I touch myself?”

His own touch would have to do, and there seemed to be objection to it as the demon began to pull back and retreat, removing its touch as it left Jace to his own devices with a nearly disappointed sigh to its rich voice. “I don’t see why not.”

Jace bit the inside of his cheek as soon as he was free, moving a hand to stroke himself and pressing the heel of his palm over his aching cock. It felt good. He pictured the tentacles around himself, touching his skin.. but they weren't  _ real  _ and Jace couldn't help thinking that the demon was right there, within his reach and watching him–  _ How much worse would it be to ask for it?  _ It wasn't the first time Jace caught himself thinking about it, but it was the first time he dared do more than just wonder, finally letting go of his pride just a tad more. 

His cheeks were still flushed hot as he spoke, but his eyes were raised to meet the demon's shifting greenish ones and his gaze didn't waver, even if his voice did. “Can– Can you touch me?”

A cheshire sort of grin was the first answer he got, stretched wide across rosy lips and with a gleam of teeth that should make its bearer look dangerous, but only complimented the demon’s sharp features instead. It didn't say yes. That would have likely been the answer if Jace had given it time, but as the demon moved it hands to reach for him the nephilim took hold of its wrist, stopping him in his path and causing the the agreement to die on its smirking lips.  _ Not with your hand _ , Jace thought, but he didn't have the guts to say it. Still, hazel eyes that were quickly turning black held his gaze, a dark eyebrow arched almost as if he  _ got it _ .

The bed shifted as he moved, dipping the mattress on both sides of Jace's head as it braced itself and moved to get on top of him. Their faces were only inches apart like this, but Jace barely noticed the fact, not when slick tentacles were sliding up his legs at the same time, wrapping around his thighs as they fell open on their accord. 

“Like this?” the demon asked with a knowing smirk. 

Jace knew he shouldn't look, shouldn't be enjoying this as much as he was, but he couldn't help himself from watching the tentacles slithering up his legs – just like in his dream, only  _ better _ – or the gasped out “Yes!” that escaped him as they reached his hips and caused his whole body to jerk upwards. Black tendrils circled Jace's hipbones, following the dip of his navel to wrap themselves around his straining cock, one around the base, the other one stroking his length just as a tight fist would. It felt like a hand and it _ didn't _ at the same time, but either way Jace was helpless not to react.  

There was no stopping the strangled moan that came out of him at finally being touched, the feeling equal parts heaven and hell taking Jace's mind so far away from all things rational. He didn't want to think about, just feel, his hands grabbing onto the sheets and holding on for dear life as he begged him not to stop. It sounded pathetic to his own ears, but what was even dignity when he had just asked a demon to pleasure him with its tentacles? His lover certainly didn't seem to mind, his eyes darkening even further as his wish for the young nephilim grew with each of his strangled moans. 

More tentacles travelled up his legs, steadying his calves, holding up his knees.. A seemingly stray tendril travelled up his chest and while Jace couldn't see it he could _ feel _ another one between his legs, soft and slick. It looked so  _ wrong _ , but it gave him a sick pleasure at the same time, sending sparks of arousal all the way up to his core, his mind screaming protest while his body rejoiced on the feeling. 

He was  _ everywhere _ , holding him and touching him and it felt even better than what Jace had dreamed. He pushed his head back into the pillows and closed his eyes as heat started pooling into his groin and all second guessing was pushed aside by pure pleasure. A few strokes and Jace was already pushing back to meet him, to feel it more completely, not shying away from the sleek touch but spreading his legs a little wider instead. He was going to come from being touched by a demon and he didn't even care.

“Don't stop,” he moaned, fearing the frustration of an unfinished pleasure he's felt over the past weeks. There was no point in denying anymore that he wanted it,  _ craved it _ . Some distant part of him still yelled at him to stop and put an end to this madness, but he knew all he would get from it would be days and nights of wondering and longing. So he pushed on instead, cursing under his breath and reaching for the demon on top of him, need to touch him _ somewhere _ — His arm, shoulder, one of his tentacles, Jace didn’t care. “Please..”

“Please what?” the demon teased, softening the blow with a light caress to Jace’s cheek, as if he wasn’t working his cock at the very same time, a thin tip teasing the head of it and pressure almost on the side of tight at his base. He had wanted to see him undone and was getting exactly what he wished for. Whatever was left of the nephilim’s composure was slipping away in face of his want; a want that that was reciprocated in his own hazel eyes, burning from within with heatless flames as he looked down at his lover. It made him look less human, but by no means less wanting.  

Jace was enthralled, but that didn’t stop him from crying out when  _ something _ pushed its way inside him, warm and wet and thickening— But it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t all. For a moment he wasn’t sure if he was awake or dreaming, clenching around the tip inside of him as he thrust up into the demon’s strokes. His heart was beating so fast he was sure the other could hear it. He was  _ close _ , but he didn’t want to be. He wanted more of it, didn’t want for it to be over so soon, because after the night was over Jace was sure he would be dead from the embarrassment, but in the moment he found himself begging “Do it. Do it, please.”  _ Fuck me _ . 

It almost felt like the wrong thing to say. Whatever stimulation Jace was getting completely stopped, the hold at the base of his cock turning tight and constricting, effectively holding him at the brink of pleasure. A frustrated groan escaped his lips, his mismatched eyes looking up almost pleadingly at his lover’s dark ones as he buckled his lips in search of something,  _ anything _ .. But he couldn’t get what he wanted without the demon moving and the denial felt maddening.  

“Are you sure?”  _ he _ asked, his voice rich a low, accompanied by the probing push of the tendril inside Jace, further opening him up as he bent his arms and pressed even closer to him. “Sure you want me to?” 

Jace’s gaze turned defiant one last time, his mind screaming at him not to let a demon play with him like that, to regain some dignity.. But it shut up when he felt the tentacle slide deeper inside him and his back arched off the bed in a beautiful curve. “Yes—” he cried out, “Fuck, yes, I want you!”

Once more all he had to do was ask. His wish felt like a command, at least for now, and it took no time at all for the tentacle to slither out of him only to be replaced by the press of what would be the demon’s hips. The pale flesh of his stomach faded into black a few inches below his belly button and Jace couldn’t see what he looked like beyond the dark mass of his limbs, but he felt the press of something, wet and flexible like the tentacles, but shorter and  _ different _ . It pushed inside of him in one sleek move and Jace saw stars behind his closed eyelids, a reward for his previous fear of being teased and left wanting. 

Instead it felt like nothing he had ever experienced before, otherworldly and  _ oh so good _ . His thighs tensed up at the feeling while his arms shot up to curl around the demon’s shoulders to pull him closer, _ deeper _ .. He had a feeling the demon didn’t have to move his hips in order to fuck him, but he did it anyway, sinking closer and changing his support from his hands to his elbows as he pressed down and fully pushed himself inside Jace’s wanting hole. Tentacles wrapped around his thighs and lifted them open, giving him better access and helping Jace  _ move _ . His hips never stopped, but they changed pace, shifted while trying to get that friction inside him just right, pushing his lover deeper until he hit that spot inside Jace that made him shudder and cry out.

Short nails dug themselves into the back of the demon’s shoulders, no doubt painfully hard, but being held by him and fucked into like that, Jace couldn't do anything but give in and let it all happen, letting his body react and respond in any way it wanted to. He felt his pleasure building up at the pit of his stomach and this time he did nothing to stop it, riding the waves that pushed him closer and closer to the edge instead, his moans coming more often than before, breathy and hoarse.

There was an odd moment of wanting to say his lover’s name and realizing he didn't  **know** it when the demon's cock moved inside him  _ just right _ , curling and pushing and slithering deeper as Jace cried out in pleasure. But it was quickly and momentarily forgotten when he was tensing up, arching his back off the mattress and coming, spilling himself all over his own stomach and chest. It was the best he had ever felt, and not just because it had been so long since he had felt that sort of release. Goosebumps ran through his body as Jace trembled in the demon’s grip, clenching around him and milking him of his own orgasm that filled up his insides and spilled between his open legs. 

Jace shuddered in disgusted pleasure, his hypersensitive body sinking into the mattress as he willed his heart to stop hammering inside his chest. Still, it skipped a beat as he opened his eyes and looked up only to be faced with the demon’s far-too-pleased smile. “Well well, angel…” he drawled, looking more human than ever with flushed cheeks and damp strands of dark hair falling over his eyes. The illusion, however, was shattered as a tentacle came up to caress Jace’s cheek.     

“Don't say it,” he warned. Whatever he wanted to say, it would probably be a tease and Jace didn't feel emotionally ready to be teased by a demon about  _ having sex with said demon _ .

“I was just going to say you were wonderful,” the demon spoke anyway, leaning down close, almost as if he was going to kiss him, only to trace Jace’s jaw with the tip of his nose instead. It was disappointing, and how strange to be disappointed by such a thing when a few weeks ago Jace would have tried to cut his head off for even trying. In the moment all he did was swallow, falling back into his pillow and unconsciously licking his lips. The movement didn’t go unnoticed.

The demon might have pulled back, but he didn’t pull  _ out _ , and Jace whimpered as he shifted on the bed, feeling the cock still inside him rubbing against his sensitive insides and causing some semen to leak out of him. His lover looked positively delighted with the sound. “Shh,” he urged softly, “Leave it be.”

“Why—?” Jace asked, moving a little despite himself, tightening his muscles and releasing them again out of pure reflex. “What are you doing?”

“Me? I just think you’re not really pleased, not if you can still talk.” The demon’s handsome face was the image of insincere innocence, and while his hips remained perfectly still Jace could somehow feel him moving  _ inside _ of him, prodding and pressing at his prostate. His lips were pressed into a tight line, but he desperately wanted to moan again and apparently it _ showed _ . “You have more in you, don’t you angel?”  

Jace tried to act like that single question didn’t go straight to his loins. “You’re going to mute me again?” he asked, choosing to say something silly in place of saying nothing at all, hoping it would at least distract him from the rising heat inside him. It did not, and soon enough the nephilim found himself letting out a shaky moan, unable to ignore the  _ thing _ moving inside of him, so foreign and weird and  _ good _ \-- 

“In a way, I will,” the demon smirked.

“G-god…” It shouldn’t feel this good, but it did, and Jace realized no one but himself would judge him for enjoying it. Should he say no to it? Should he say yes? In the end Jace said nothing at all, closing his eyes and giving himself up to the feeling instead. (No answer was an answer too, in this case.) His hips moved again in no time, unable to stay still as the movement inside of him intensified. 

He felt hopeless, his sensitive body completely at the demon’s mercy, unable to make it stop or slow down. It took away his choice on the matter and Jace revelled on the fact, rocking his hips as he could and telling himself there was nothing else he could do, nothing but letting go and  _ accepting it _ . It felt different from before as well, more intimate as the demon leaned closer to him, their chests pressed together, his warm breath on Jace’s neck sending shivers down his spine. He thought it was licking his skin at some point, but it didn’t feel quite right, too long and too thin.. Jace assumed it was just his hazy mind playing tricks on him and he got closer and closer to the edge. 

The second time Jace came it was not only untouched but almost  _ dry _ , his cock twitching long past it had anything else to give, just nearly painful pleasure that had him pushing his head back into the soft pillows and moaning brokenly. Wrecked, that was how he felt, panting even harder than before, his thighs trembling as the demon still refused to pull out. Jace was a mess, sticky and wet with come dripping out of him, but he didn’t feel nearly as disgusting as he knew he should have. 

Try as he might, Jace couldn’t fully regret what was happening; he was busy enough trying to catch his breath and get down from the high that made his head spin and his skin tingle. It felt even harder to do so as the demon chuckled against his neck, warm and ever so amused by him. Slowly his hips pulled out, but his arms and other limbs merely wrapped around Jace further, moving as if they had a life of their own as they curled around his arms and hips in a soft caress. It continued to amaze Jace, how nice they could be when they were so alien to begin with; demonic and symbolic of what he was born to  _ fight _ . But in that moment Jace felt less like a demon hunter than he ever had, like something else entirely. 

Jace enjoyed being held, feeling both sleepy and somewhat hyped from all that had happened, his eyes drifting closed until a thought crosses his mind, snapping him out of his dooziness. He meant to say the other’s name, only to realize he wasn’t privy to it just yet. “I don’t know your name,” the nephilim mused quietly. 

“I was beginning to think you would never ask,” the demon chuckled. His dark green and now very human eyes holding a twinkle in them as they meet Jace’s tired gaze, and he noticed there was no hesitation as he answered him. “I’m Allocer.”

“Allocer.. ” Jace repeated, testing the name against his tongue. It didn’t sound like it belonged to the realm of men, thought at the same time there was a familiarity to the name, something Jace felt he should recognize. “I’ve heard of you,” he realized, though the memory of how or when felt like nothing but a distant thing.  

The demon, Allocer, didn’t seem to mind. “I wouldn't be that great of a demon if you haven't, would I?” he joked, his laugh as soft as his touch as he carded his fingers through golden strands of hair. Whereas before his touch had set Jace’s skin of fire it now sent pleasant ripples up his spine as his eyes grew heavy with sleep.

“Can I take a shower?” he asked quietly, the words mumbled against his lover’s shoulder. The mere idea of getting up felt exhausting, but Jace’s skin was a sticky mess and he knew he should do it if he didn’t wish to hate himself in the morning. Funny how of all things that was what what he worried about in his hazy state, a _ shower _ , and not the things he had done in order to warrant it.   

“You could,” Allocer told him, “But don't worry about that, angel. I'll take care of it.” 

The assurance was accompanied by the soft press of lips to Jace’s temple and the nearly familiar tingle of the demon’s magic coursing through his skin. It felt like the fire from his first day there, the one that had burned through his clothes, though now all it did was warm him, leaving him feeling fresh and comfortable beneath the sheets that were pulled over him. The demon’s arms remained wrapped around Jace’s waist while other limbs crawled up his legs and thighs, settling comfortably in place. 

“Sleep now, angel,” he urged in a whisper, and Jace did just so, satiated and deeply, completely free of any nightmare. For once, his dreams were guarded as safely as his body. 


End file.
